ON the day the pony team added to Ireland’s haul of European medals in underage eventing by winning gold at Strzegom, matters were not so rosey on the home front at Punchestown where 11 horses who had been due to start in the three EI115 classes were withdrawn while two others were ‘No Shows’ – all from an entry of just 22.

“The ground was a disgrace, it was harder than hard,” commented Nicola Ennis who pulled the three horses she was due to compete at EI115 level, one of whom was her own Dawn Arrival. “It was so disappointing for me, as a rider, to withdraw as I have put in a lot of time and effort to get these horses to this level and also for my owners who are paying livery every week, while each entry at 115 level is £130.”

As so many diverse activities take place at Punchestown (there was a truck show there last month while the running and riding phases of the Irish Pony Club/Audi Naas national Tetrathlon championships are being staged there tomorrow) it’s difficult to see how the event organisers can be totally accountable for the ground but it be a huge shame if underfoot conditions were to stop people running their horses in the future.

There was also an issue with the order of show jumping which is definitely something the organisers will have to address.

Only two of the eight starters in the EI115 (Open) went out on the final leg and Megan Telford Kelly retired Mr Chocolate following two stops at fence 14, the second water, Ian Cassells took it slowly to win on Gerry and Fiona Leahy’s Millridge Atlantis whose total of 66.1 included 41.6 cross-country time penalties.

Things were a lot more competitive in the regular EI115 although only three of the six starters took on the Adam Stevenson-designed cross-country track. In the lead going out on the final leg, Caoimhe Eivers took it handy on Stoer, picking up 23.6 time penalties for a third place total of 60. However, there was no hanging about for Patrick Byrne and his nine-year-old Puissance mare Oughterard Diva who won when adding just two time penalties to their first phase score of 38.9 while Sarah Lang was slightly faster on RNG Vantage Point whose second-place total of 42.1 included 1.2 time penalties.